Karen: Four Things
by Aeanagwen
Summary: Part Two--Karen has never been on the other side.
1. Part One

The concept for this is from some writings over in the Yami no Matsuei fanbase. The idea is to pick a character and write a number of short pieces on things that they've never done, been, experienced, etc. I chose Karen, although I may eventually do a few for Kotori as well. 

These are wonderfully fun things to write, and offer a good opportunity to explore little pocket AUs without having to go through a long story. These are dedicated to Evil Asian Genius, from whom I got the idea, and Tiamat's Child, who writes the most beautiful X one shots that I've ever had the privilege of reading. May I someday write as well. 

There will be four of these, each a different look at what might have been. 

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_Know a mother's pride._

The chapel is always warm at night. Light pours through the rich oak doors as they're thrown open to receive those attending the high mass; it streams in through the windows when the sun is high, casting a blur of color like chalk after the rain down on polished marble. Then, once the doors are closed and moonlight instead courts the panes of stained glass, the heat lingers, reluctant to give way to the stars' cool silk touch. 

Karen loves it. Sometimes, she thinks she can still hear echoes of the sweet hymns the choir sings, snatches of verse and chord fluttering high near the pearly ceiling as if seeking a way to spill into the open sky above. The darkness is warm and inviting, soft, inky velvet draped over the alter and blanketing the pews. 

But it isn't so dark tonight. The tiny flames hang in the air around her, hovering as though lit to invisible candles. Light and shadow tangle and twine together in the dim corners, an intimate play of soft gold and feathery black. Her laughter rings in the silence, clear and sweet as a spring dawn, as she rejoices in her newfound gift. 

The heavy door opens suddenly to admit a woman whose face is creased with worry. Shock overtakes the concern as her daughter turns, eyes alight, the tiny snips of fire flaring and brightening, each its own shining reflection of inner joy. 

"Mama, look! Isn't it beautiful?" 

Karen stands beringed in flames that toss light into the highest reaches of the chapel, framed against the alter, and the beauty and the mystery of it takes her mother's breath away, nearly driving her to her knees. 

"Karen... Oh, Karen..." Her voice is breathless, catching in her throat, etched with wonder and pride. 

"Mama!" Her daughter is embracing her, and she feels happy tears spilling down her cheeks as she pulls the child close. 

"It's a miracle, Karen. A miracle..." 

And, around them, the flames dance. 


	2. Part Two

_Be on the other side._

The flames roar around her like a great summoned beast, furious and wild, and Yuuto cannot help but admire the terrible, fatalistic beauty blazing in her eyes and on the dagger's edge of her full-lipped smile. Summoned water sings through his fingers; he can feel the blood in his body pulsing its answer as their elements meet in battle, steam billowing away from the clash in screaming waves. 

He sees the firelight flash off a gold cross circling her neck and smiles, mind skimming over memories like a stone skipped over a still pond; stained glass windows and statues of the Virgin Mary, the madonnas in white marble. More like the Holy Mother, he decides, seeing the protectiveness smoldering beneath the whetted steel of her conviction when she looks at her fallen teammate. the white haired one with blood on his hands and innocence in his eyes. 

"You caught me off guard," he calls as they regroup, keeping his gaze locked with hers, staring into leonine golden depths. "I'll have to replace this suit." He smirks, gesturing to charred cloth. 

She returns the expression, and he sighs wistfully, ruing the fate that cast them as enemies. 

"It doesn't matter if the clothes are the only thing burnt. You're very charming; I don't suppose you'd be willing to take down this kekkai?" 

He can see the sparks of malice in her eyes now, and gives her a smile, knowing full well how damned smug it must look. 

"I'm afraid I can't, although it pains me to refuse a request from one as stunning as yourself." 

She tosses her cerise hair back lightly, one splaying indolently at her hip. "I can't promise my aim won't improve this time," she says carelessly. 

He shrugs it off. "Better to lose only one suit today than this one and another in the next encounter." 

"It may be more than the suit you lose," she laughs, raising her arms and calling forth her element again. 

"Such are the risks of the profession, I'm told," he responds, giving shape to formless water and preparing again to test himself against her. 

It turns out to be unneeded as a gale of wind blasts the flames back, red and yellow tongues tasting his opponent's flesh. They both turn to see the interloper, and Yuuto feels his eyes widen at the sight of his teammate weaving his wind spells through the clear pain of the gash deep in his leg. 

"Seiichirou-san!" 

The man half-turns to glare at him, pain and disorientation from the drug slipped to him still strong in his eyes. 

"What did you think you were doing? Yuuto-san--?" He looks like he has quite a bit more to say, but then his knees give out. Yuuto leaps to his side as he drops, the blond's gaze darting up to find his opponent, bracing for another attack. 

It doesn't come. She's kneeling by her own companion, pulling one of the boy's arms around her shoulders. 

"Shall we call today's match a draw, Yuuto-kun?" Her voice is light, but mockery dances along the words, brazen in her eyes. 

"It seems the best solution for now," he responds casually, drawing Aoki close into the protective circle of his arms. "I hope you don't mind that I wish your companion a slow recovery." 

She laughs and stands, hooking an elbow around the boy and hauling him up against her. "Not so long as you don't mind me wishing yours further encounters with kitchen knives," she responds saucily. "Another day then." She turns, jumps lightly off the roof, and is gone. 

"I'm certain of that, regina ignigena," he murmurs, his kekkai falling with his rueful smile as he turns his attention to the man in his lap. 

Face set in a grimace of pain, Aoki looks up at him again and forces himself into speech. "What did you think you were doing?" he repeats in clear rebuke. "You should survive as much as any of us. It isn't your place to pick our fights for us." 

"My apologies, Seiichirou-san. I shall try not to overstep myself again." Yuuto lets the smile come to his face and hopes it hides the regret as he pulls free a strip of fabric, torn from when one of the boy's weapons cut just a bit too close, and begins to bind up the wound in Aoki's leg. "You should be more careful. This sort of thing will cause your wife to worry." 

The brunet did not cease his earnest stare. Yuuto can feel it drilling into him as he tends to the injury. "There are people who would worry for _you _if you were hurt," he says insistently. "Yuuto-san. _I _would worry." 

Yuuto tries to ignore the stab of pain, and focuses on his work, feeling the smile play at his lips as it always does. 

"Really..." His voice is fading, and Yuuto looks up to find his gaze caught. "I'm not good at getting angry... But if you do something like this again, I--really will--get angry..." The dark head drops, and Yuuto is quick to check his pulse. It is perhaps somewhat slower than it should be, but steady. He's relieved, but more saddened as he looks down at Aoki, brushing his bangs aside. 

_You really are too kind, Seiichirou-san. What I said before hasn't changed. It isn't that I don't think you would worry, but I'm the sort of person that goes with the flow of things. I don't have the same drive other people do. All I can do is admire it, and fight to see that it isn't extinguished. All that I have to protect is people with their own things to protect._

_What would I do if your devotion were to vanish from this world? If I can save that devotion by keeping you from a battle, I will do this again, no matter how angry it makes you. I hope you don't hate me for that._

His eternal smile quirks at his lips as he leans in to touch a kiss to Aoki's temple, then he stands, and, carefully lifting his teammate, brings him home. 

((Translation of my probably-sucky Latin, as provided by this place:   
regina -ae f. [queen; princess; lady, mistress, sovereign].   
ignigena -ae m. [born of fire].)) 


End file.
